Highline Bond Plan Heads to Vote Monday as Shark Garden Question Remains

On Monday, March 30, the Highline School District Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) will vote on its recommendation for the district’s next bond measure.

The recommendation will go to the Highline School Board and is expected to outline a proposed bond for the November ballot, including total cost and which schools would be rebuilt or upgraded. Early estimates place the bond at approximately $550 million, depending on the final list of projects included.

The two main projects set to be recommended are rebuilds of Sylvester Middle School and Cascade Middle School. Based on a number of factors, including reduced cost, the current proposal is to rebuild Cascade MS at the Salmon Creek site, which includes a displacement of the New Start Shark Garden. 

Also under consideration are rebuilds or relocations of Chinook, Valley View, Big Picture, and Hilltop.

The meeting will be held at the Puget Sound Skills Center, in the Health Sciences Building – Lecture Hall, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (18010 8th Ave S, SeaTac). 

It will not be recorded, so community members are encouraged to attend in person.

Background materials

A district webpage includes materials from the March 9 meeting, including slides outlining projected tax rates and total bond amounts.

Those estimates are based on a sample home assessed at $500,000. Actual costs will vary, so homeowners will need to adjust those figures based on their own property value.

The website also includes results from ThoughtExchange surveys, both districtwide and for select individual schools.

What’s not included

The materials do not include any direct polling of voters or taxpayers on willingness to support a bond of this size.

Additionally, the district is considering a Tech Levy on the same ballot.

That leaves a central question still unanswered: at what point are voters tapped out?

Community questions emerging

As the bond proposal takes shape, several questions continue to surface from community members:

• Some users of the Shark Community Garden are asking why Cascade Middle School is being considered for the Salmon Creek site, rather than remaining near its current location by Evergreen High School.
• How would a proposed Technology Levy on the same ballot affect the overall tax burden for voters?
• If Cascade is moved, what happens to the robotics team currently based at the Salmon Creek location, and where would that program relocate?
• What are the district’s plans for the current Cascade Middle School property if the school is moved?

These questions reflect ongoing concerns about location decisions, program impacts, and the broader financial picture facing voters this November.

While two individuals raised concerns on March 25 about losing the New Start, or Shark Community Garden, at the last school board meeting, there have been no additional in-person opportunities for the broader community to engage directly with CFAC members.

Citizen comment is not permitted at CFAC meetings, although observers are welcome to attend.

Ahead of the March 9 meeting, CFAC members received a six-page summary of community feedback, including ThoughtExchange results. The report was reviewed, but discussion of specific concerns was limited.

Here are a few comments, especially focused on the Shark Garden, made about the Cascade rebuild at Salmon Creek site: 

Preliminary designs show a small soccer field and a parking lot on the location of the garden.

According the district, “Clearly, no one wants to lose the Shark Garden from our community. Highline staff are committed to helping the community garden, currently at the Salmon Creek site, to locate a new home.”

However, concerned community Shark Garden advocates share that this move would be highly detrimental to a garden community that provides garden space for 87 families, 1,000 pounds of fresh produce annually to the White Center Food Bank, cooking and gardening classes, and both student and community enrichment programs. They partner with 36 nonprofit organizations, and are a vibrant hub in the north Burien neighborhood.

This Cascade MS relocation would also displace – for a second time – the existing robotics team that uses the Salmon Creek site. 

Scope of discussion

While CFAC members have tried to ask foundational questions of “what academic outcomes are we trying to achieve? How is this going to help?”  Committee members have been explicitly told “you are not to bring up academics, we are not making any changes.” Well, that locks the committee into a strategy that may or may not be optimal, and squelches any alternate facility-type proposals that could potentially help children learn.

Unfortunately, there has been little opportunity to have a robust dialogue about these and other  questions of  “what” we’re trying to accomplish and “what” we need in order to help our students advance, not just “what” we should build.  

One example: committee member Sue Ann Hohimer, Deputy Mayor of Normandy Park, proposed some new approaches to schooling, such as a central site for a literacy academy, where students with reading challenges could get specific support. She pointed out that “the new buildings are great, but it’s what happens INSIDE the buildings that voters are concerned about.”  Similar to lack of public comment, there has been no slot on the agenda where this could be discussed. 

Enrollment and planning context

“What is the future enrollment?”

District forecasts presented in November show enrollment remaining relatively stable, with no major shifts tied to broader economic or demographic factors. The demographer also noted new housing units permitted within district boundaries, though details on location and type have not been a focus of recent discussion.

How many Middle Schools do we need?

We have built a lot of new schools. How full are they?  Are there any schools that are approaching capacity and might need additions in the near future? 

According to Highline District provided information and OSPI Washington State data, Highline has approximately 3,726 enrolled students, but space for over 5,075. 

Do we even need five middle schools, or would four plus expanded alternative programs – like CHOICE – suffice?

Here is a listing of the current middle schools versus the amount of enrolled students.

** Enrollment numbers per OSPI Report Card 2025-26.

If this is important to you, community members we spoke with encourage you to attend the final CFAC bond recommendation vote on Monday, March 30 at Puget Sound Skills Center at 6pm.